Climate Tech Startups: Apply For Up To $3M In Funding From Elemental Excelerator

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Elemental Excelerator is currently accepting applications from climate tech startups to become a part of its 13th cohort and receive up to $3 million in funding to scale up “climate solutions with deep community impact.” In addition to the funding, the organization will also provide the approved startups with “tailored, wraparound support to address critical gaps in operations, sales, equity and access, policy, corporate agreements, and more.”

The nonprofit investor is looking for innovative climate tech solutions across 7 different sectors — energy, mobility, water, food and agriculture, industry, the built environment, and nature-based solutions — and will be accepting 15-20 participants for this round of funding. And the focus is not just climate tech in general, but rather climate tech in communities, and climate solutions that have “social equity” at their heart. Two different funding tracks are offered by Elemental — $350,000 per company in the Strategy Track, and up to $3 million per company in the Project Track.

“As climate financing evolves, we’re committed to addressing critical funding gaps and expanding opportunities for impactful projects. Over the past five years, we’ve observed a growing disparity between early- and late stage funding, particularly for project deployments. To bridge this gap, Elemental is rolling out its largest capital opportunity yet, along with expanded services for project development, finance and community engagement. We are thrilled to open applications and welcome new additions to our portfolio. — Danya Hakeem, VP of Portfolio at Elemental Excelerator

In order to be eligible to apply to Elemental Excelerator, the minimum requirements are:

• Be a startup addressing climate change and related issues
• Be a for-profit, stand-alone venture
• Have at least two full-time employees
• Have at least an operating prototype
• Project Track applicants are required to have at least one initial pilot deployment in progress or completed

“For over 14 years, Elemental has been fostering a vibrant community of entrepreneurs, having made investments in over 150 companies to date. Not only has the organization invested over $79 million in its portfolio companies, but these ventures have also collectively raised over $10 billion in follow-on funding.”

Elemental Excelerator says that it prioritizes funding equitable projects “in low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDAC) and frontline communities,” and that it does not fund project developers selling third party products, consulting firms, nonprofits, marketing or PR agencies, or acquired startups. Applications for the funding round will close on May 31, 2024, with the final selections being made in September 2024.